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1. Field of the Invention
The invention is related to the field of internet routing systems, and in particular, to a system that provides routing information to internet gateways.
2. Statement of the Problem
The internet is a well-known communications system that routes packets based on internet addresses. In a typical internet communication, a user exchanges internet packets with an internet gateway over a local telephone line or local area network. The internet gateway transfers the packets to the internet where internet routers forward the packets based on the internet address. The packets matriculate through a series of routers until they reach a destination server or another internet gateway.
The internet is supplanting conventional long distance telephone lines to create new services for modem, voice, facsimile, and video communications. For example, an internet facsimile service could deploy internet gateways in London and New York. A London customer transmits the facsimile to the London internet gateway using a local telephone call. The London internet gateway transfers internet packets that contain the facsimile over the internet. The packets are addressed to the New York internet gateway. The New York internet gateway receives the internet packets and places a local telephone call in New York. The facsimile is reconstructed in the New York gateway from the packets and transmitted to the destination over the New York telephone line. Using this new service, the customer avoids the cost of an international telephone call between London and New York.
The above-described service can be extended to other types of communications where the internet can provide the transport between networks. Unfortunately, it may not be feasible for the service provider to deploy internet gateways in all desired geographic regions. The service provider must then turn away business where an internet gateway is not available. In the above example, the service provider could handle facsimile communications between London and New York, but could not handle facsimile communications between London and Tokyo.
The service provider may also lack the processing capacity to handle telephone numbers. The ability to process a large database of telephone numbers is a complex and expensive. For example, a new area code causes massive changes to the processing logic in the public telephone system. Even the task of determining if the service provider has the internet gateways to handle the call can be complex as the number of internet gateways increases in a changing telephone numbering environment.
Telephone number processing has evolved into a complex system that handles enhanced service calls. One example is the xe2x80x9c800xe2x80x9d type call where call routing is dynamically programmable. It will not be economically feasible for many smaller internet service providers to manage and deploy such enhanced service logic.
At present, internet services would be improved by systems and methods for providing internet gateways and internet routing support. Routing support could include telephone number processing and internet address selection.
The invention solves the above problem by providing routing support to internet gateways operated by internet service providers that market internet communications services. The invention includes a routing system that receives a query from an internet service provider and responds with the appropriate internet address to transport communications over the internet. The internet address may direct the communications to an internet gateway or to the routing system itself. The routing system can forward the communications to a destination over the public telephone system.
The invention allows service providers to initially offer a robust internet-based telephone service without deploying all of the requisite equipment and software. If the service provider is routing telephone calls over the internet, the service provider does not need to perform the complex data processing required to analyze telephone numbers. The service provider simply queries the routing system over the internet. The routing system processes the telephone number to identify the proper internet address for the communication. The routing system then responds to the service provider with the internet address. Likewise, the service provider does not need internet gateways in all service regions. The routing system or other service providers may provide internet gateways in some regions. The routing system can select internet addresses based upon the availability of internet gateways provided by the routing system or by other service providers.